Zanoni will succeed Pat DiGiovanni, who will leave the post Nov. 16 and takes over as CEO of the Centro Partnership, effective Jan. 1.

Zanoni has worked for the city since 1997 as a senior budget analyst, budget director and assistant city manager. He also played a key role in developing Mayor Julián Castro's Brainpower Initiative concept into what became Pre-K 4 SA, approved by voters Tuesday.

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In his final months as Sculley's deputy, DiGiovanni came under fire for his failure to disclose a conflict of interest that arose when he negotiated his Centro employment with David Zachry, a Centro executive board member, whose company was part of a team that won a $300 million Convention Center expansion project.

The city's Ethics Review Board in October found DiGiovanni had “unknowingly” created the appearance of a conflict of interest, violating a portion of the ethics code.